Qualifications & Experience

Hi! I am tutor for High School Math and Physics. I graduated from Grinnell College, a top liberal arts school, with a Bachelor of Arts in Physics. I have two years of experience as a math and science tutor, and two years of experience as a pre-college instructor for Kaplan.

Each tutoring session I focus on three key objectives:

A) Assess and Build Knowledge
To solve any question, students must know the definitions, rules, and assumptions inherent to the problem.For instance, to solve “x+ 4 = 8” a student need to know that the variable (x) represents an unknown number. She needs to understand the additive and multiplicative properties, i.e. since both sides of the equation are equal, she may add, subtract, multiply, or divide each side by the same number. Once the student has mastered this concept, she can subtract 4 from both sides and find that x = 4.

B) Familiarize Student with Test-Like Problems
With familiarization, a teacher walks students through “example” problems; problems that are analogous to those a student will see on their homework and tests. For example, before our student tackles “x + 4 = 8”, a teacher might first show the student how to solve a similar problem, like “x – 4 = 5.” Through familiarization, a teacher can demonstrate how to practically apply abstract concepts, like the additive or multiplicative properties we discussed earlier.

C) Develop Problem Solving Skills
With each session, I try to cultivate a student’s innate problem solving abilities. In our first few sessions, I engage the student in Socratic conversations help demonstrate the general reasoning used to tackle problems. As students gains more confident in their problem-solving abilities, I step back and allow them to direct me through problems.